Boston push for reform

Massachussetts in the most Democrat state in the USA, and has one of the worst family courts. A Boston Globe editorial says:

FEW MATTERS can be as contentious and emotional as post-divorce child custody arrangements, and in recent years that acrimony has spilled over into Massachusetts politics. Several times, a bill calling for what is known as “shared parenting’’ — which would create a legal presumption for joint custody — has been introduced in the Legislature, and failed.

The debate has often been passionate, as divorce proceedings can be, and it has sometimes turned ugly. Some proponents of the bill, who claim that the family court system is biased against fathers, have launched ad hominem attacks against opponents. Unsurprisingly, this hasn’t created a receptiveness to compromise. ...

Advocates for custody reform aren’t going away; they are among the loudest and most persistent constituencies to lobby state government today. Their passion bespeaks a genuine need to examine the workings of family courts, and to determine whether some complaints about bias have merit. ...

The task force should not be another forum for fathers’-rights supporters to push a shared parenting bill that would deprive judges of the necessary discretion to determine the best interests of the child.

That last sentence reflects the liberal Democrat mindset -- they deny individual rights and want to put govt bureaucrats in charge of your lives. One letter responded:

Nation watches Bay State in seeking justice in custody courts
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR | Letters | a push for shared parenting
March 21, 2012

RE “AFTER success with alimony laws, task force should review custody’’ (Editorial, March 19): The country is watching Massachusetts as it strives to bring justice to custody courts. I know of no other state that treats divorced fathers so undeservedly harshly. And there may be no other state that has so many caring and intelligent men and women trying to correct this situation.

Concern must be given to the children who are often ordered to live apart from a fit and loving father. I agree with the Globe that either the Legislature or the Patrick administration should convene a task force to review antiquated custody laws. Kids need both parents, even children of divorce.

Don Mathis

Maybe we will see more progress in the states where the family court abuses are most apparent.